Text: Luke 1:26-38, Isaiah 11:1-10 This morning, we find ourselves in the second Sunday of Advent… this season of waiting for the coming of Christ. This Christmas story is so familiar and comfortable, we could curl up in it like a blanket. We are ready for the heavenly choirs of angels mingling with the smelly…
Advent
Sanctuary
Text: Micah 5:2-5a, Luke 1:39-56 I have a kind of strange question to ask… Does this dress look familiar to you? How many of you have noticed or realized that I have worn it every Sunday for the last eight weeks? How many of you have noticed that I have worn this dress… I mean,…
Time to Go
Text: Luke 21:25-36, Jeremiah 33:14-16 Have you ever been at a gathering… maybe with family or with friends… and all of a sudden you didn’t really want to be there anymore? Maybe you were tired. Or maybe the conversation became stale. Maybe they ran out of food or someone said something that offended you. Or…
No Christmas Without Joy and Acceptance
All through this Advent season we are exploring the complicated family tree of Jesus of Nazareth Matthew shares with us. Their stories are a legacy of courage and faith, justice and peace, that shape how we understand our Savior in the manger of Bethlehem. Today, we remember that there would be no Christmas, no Jesus,…
No Christmas without Justice and Hope
Text: Genesis 38: 1-30 In Diana Butler Bass’s book, Grounded, she reminds us that our roots are far deeper than our memories. We are shaped and influenced by generations that have come and gone, whether or not we remember their stories. In one of my pastoral care classes in seminary we studied family systems and…
An Altogether Joy
Text: Psalm 30:2-3, 5; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 One of tasks of preaching is to take a part a text, study it, let the Holy Spirit do her work, and then share the good news back with all of you in bite-sized, easy to digest nuggets of helpful information. So imagine my dismay when I dive…
An Altogether Peace
Text: Ephesians 4: 1-4, 21-32 Often when I’m writing a sermon there is an audience in mind. I ask God what it is that we, as the people of Immanuel, need to hear. Sometimes the sermon is only for a portion of our community… meaning sometimes it’s a teaching sermon meant to challenge those who…
An Altogether Hope
Text: 1 Peter 1: 3-6, 9-15,22 Keep awake! Get ready! Prepare yourselves! These are the words that fly at us from the scriptures for this first Sunday of Advent. But get ready for what? Get yourself ready for the future that God has already prepared for you. Get ready to embrace the life that Christ…